ESSEX COUNTY — Tim McLoone had a big hand in transforming the iconic Howard Johnson’s on the Asbury Park boardwalk from a sleepy venue into a bustling boardwalk grill and supper club.

Next up is McLoone’s Boathouse Restaurant on the banks of the old Orange Reservoir.

"We’re going to sink $1 million into this site," McLoone said today as Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. unveiled the latest puzzle piece in his plan to create a "destination" at the South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange.

Until now, McLoone’s big presence has been at the Jersey Shore. There’s McLoone’s Rum Runner in Sea Bright and McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch, just to name two of his five New Jersey restaurants.

"Tim was one of the first people to invest on the boardwalk itself," said Terry Reidy, the one-time Montclair township manager who 7 years ago took the city manager’s job in the resort. "We’re really happy to have him here. Asbury Park is like exploding."

But today, McLoone talked about growing up in Orange and East Orange, going to Seton Hall Prep in West Orange and once even being spotted at a drive-in movie in Livingston.

"I’m an Essex County boy," he proclaimed. "I’m not a big believer in karma, but in this case, I’m feeling good about it."

The lure back home for the public-private partnership came in an insert in a New Jersey Restaurant Association mailing. Inside, he found — next to offers from exterminators — a "request for information" from Essex County for a restaurateur.

That was the bait he took, said McLoone, who is also a familiar voice to New Jersey Nets and Seton Hall basketball fans as the Prudential Center’s arena announcer.

By Jan. 1, Essex intends to seek bids to erect the $4 million, 12,000-square-foot restaurant within sight of a new safari-themed mini golf course and a short trek or shuttle bus ride to the Codey Arena or Turtle Back Zoo. Inside, McLoone will pump $1 million into the kitchen, decor and furnishings for a dining spot with seating inside for 240 and an extra 80 to 100 outside on a 6,000-square-foot deck with a fire pit and water views. The opening is scheduled for July 1.

He’ll pay Essex $22,500 a month in rent under a 15-year lease and chip in $12,000 annually into a beautification fund for the outdoor upkeep. The rent alone comes to $270,000 a year — part of DiVincenzo’s repeated effort to create revenue streams for the county.

Just next door, the new safari-themed golf course has generated $50,000 in revenue in its first month, putting it on course to surpass its initial projection of $250,000 in revenue in the first year.

The county’s $4 million contribution for the restaurant-boathouse is coming from its annual $20 million allotment for capital expenditures, something that will not have an impact on the county’s debt service given a 2007 refinancing, officials said.

Essex County carries $1 billion in debt and commits about 13 percent of its budget to servicing it. But the credit-rating agency Moody’s, which has an A-1 rating on the county’s debt, terms the indebtedness "moderate," given the county’s real-estate values.

McLoone said the boathouse’s menu will have items for people with all budgets. "There is no demographic," he said of the menu.

The boathouse-restaurant, whose exterior will have a lodge-feel, is a piece of what architect Gregory Comito of Comito Associates of Newark called the new "Disney North."

Eventually, DiVincenzo wants the tip of the 100-acre former reservoir to be a launching point for paddle boats and kayaks, but in recent months Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr. has balked at the county’s lease and purchase proposals. Yesterday, however, he was more hopeful.

"We have not yet reached an agreement, but we remain optimistic we’ll be able to do so," Hawkins said. "The project itself appears to be a positive one with great potential."